A Chorus in Brooklyn

Lost Music: Exploring Literary Opera

There's nothing like singing in an opera chorus. Marc Eliot Stein and Ted Shulman talk about their participation in Regina Opera's production of Verdi's "Rigoletto" in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and the special ways a chorus can illuminate or enliven a classic opera. We chat about "Nabucco", "Turandot", "Parsifal", "Les Contes d'Hoffmann", "Orfeo ed Euridice", "HMS Pinafore" and "Aida", and the conversation also turns to amateur singing, drinking songs, offensive operas, gender of choruses, teamwork, the disastrous 2023 Israel/Gaza war, Lance Loud, reality TV, New York City's 1970s CBGBs punk scene and a mostly (but not completely) forgotten punk band called The Mumps.